Frequently asked questions

Swiss
Ephemeris > For Programmers

Where
can I find more information on the Swiss Ephemeris?

You can find a full documentation under www.astro.com/swisseph/.
The Swiss Ephemeris is designed for developers of astrological
software. It consists of files that are not really useful
until they are read by software which you have to develop
first. For commercial use of Swiss Ephemeris you must purchase
a license.

Can
I compute the planetary nodes with Swiss Ephemeris?

A sufficiently talented programmer can use our Swiss Ephemeris
package to compute the planetary nodes. There are functions
provided for the osculating nodes of any celestial body.
Please, see chapter 5 of the Programmer's documentation
for the Swiss Ephemeris. For celestial bodies with
mean theories (Mercury to Neptune) mean nodes are
also available, for the others (Pluto and all 23'000 asteroids)
only osculating nodes are available.
If you are not a programmer, please use the Swiss Ephemeris
test page atwww.astro.com/swisseph/swetest.htm
See Swiss Ephemeris full
documentation, section 2.2.4 for more explanation. The
matter is not trivial, though very few astrologers have
an idea about the technical problems involved.

Is
it possible to calculate an asteroid ephemeris?

You can easily create such an ephemeris yourself on our website, and
then copy-paste it to a local document on your computer.

First, go to the Extended Chart
Selection and use the link provided at the very bottom
of the page to find the number of this asteroid. It is 1981
for Midas, for example. To include it in any chart, just
enter this number in the field on the extended chart selection
page.

For a simple ephemeris, you need to use the Swiss
Ephemeris test page.
Fill out the form like this (or study the explanation page
to find out for yourself):
start date: whatever you like
steps -n: 365 (for a 5-year ephemeris in 5-day steps)
stepsize -s: 5
planet selection -p: s
output format -f: PTLBD
(P = planet name, T = date, L = longitude, B = latitude,
D = declination)
other options: -xs1981
(-xs followed by the number of the Asteroid you wish)
If you prefer signs and degrees instead of 360-degree notation
for longitude, replace L with Z.
Now click on the 'submit' button.